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I was just doing some back of the envelope calculations on overall sales numbers of Atomic Sock Monkey Press products for another purpose, and I figured it'd be interesting to post them here as well. These are the numbers I have across all sales venues -- RPGNow/DTRPG, e23, and IPR (through 3Q2007), with the release date of each.
Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot Deluxe: 145 copies (released 12/06/2003). Dead Inside: 420 copies (released 01/23/2004). Cold, Hard World: 161 copies (released 08/03/2004). Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot: the Roleplaying Game: 191 copies (released 05/27/2004). Truth & Justice: 707 copies (released 07/07/2005). T&J: The Turtlezilla Dossier: 64 copies (released 07/11/2006). The Zorcerer of Zo: 519 copies (released 11/17/2006).
On ZoZ one-year anniversary of it's release, I'll do a post on the year-end numbers. That is, if more copies get sold in the next eleven days through RPGNow/DTRPG -- I won't be able to get a read on the 4Q2007 numbers from IPR until January 2008. (Hmm. Interestingly, 2007 will be the first year I haven't put out a new product since forming ASMP. The development cycle for S7S has run longer than expected.) My read on these numbers puts ASMP solidly in the middle range of small-press publishers (those not producing d20 material). There is a growing number of small-press publishers with higher sales, and an even larger number with lower sales than those posted above. All-in-all, not bad. Anyone else have any insights or comments they'd like to share? Thanks to all past, present, and future Atomic Sock Monkey Press customers! Tags: asmp, dead inside, gaming, mnpr-rpg, s7s, sales, truth-and-justice, zoz
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Check out the post Fred Hicks / ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) drivingblind made here: http://drivingblind.livejournal.com/294198.htmlThe upshot is that I'm outsourcing a bunch of production/marketing/business responsibilities for Swashbucklers of the 7 Skies and some future PDQ and other gaming products to Evil Hat Productions. There are many reasons for this arrangement. After all, Fred kicked ass on the Zorcerer of Zo layout. And I was extremely impressed with the production values of recent Evil Hat games like Don't Rest Your Head and Spirit of the Century. Additonally, working with the Evil Hat folks on The Dresden Files RPG has been a remarkable experience. And lastly, they have the tools and the talent with con-presence, marketing, and networking issues. Despite this new arrangement, Atomic Sock Monkey Press will continue to exist. This isn't a merger. All current products -- Dead Inside, Truth & Justice, The Zorcerer of Zo, and Monkey, Ninja, Pirate, Robot -- will continue to be sold and supported right here. But starting with S7S, some of new game concepts (and, maybe, some revisions of older products), will be produced under the EHP label. This frees me up from some of the business-end issues, and lets me get back to doing purely creative stuff. And every so often, I'm sure there will be "boutique" products that I want to get my hands completely dirty on, in all phases of production. In any case, I retain full and complete ownership of my material published via Evil Hat. This was a key element of my arrangement with Evil Hat, and I am glad of their dedication to the "indie" aesthetic. This is a great opportunity for ASMP-slash-me and Evil Hat Productions to leverage our individual strengths together, and I'm glad it's come to pass. And, as we all continue to work together, who knows what strange and delightful synergies may come of the arrangement? Tags: asmp, dead inside, dresden, evilhat, game design, gaming, mnpr-rpg, s7s, truth-and-justice, work journal, writing, zoz
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Ryan Macklin/ macklinr interviewed me for his Master Plan podcast. The interview focuses on a weird aspect of my PDQ system (the underlying system for all the ASMP games), which is how damage is figured. Master Plan #5: Interview with Chad Underkoffler -- Wacky Damage in PDQCheck it -- and the Master Plan webcolumn -- out! Tags: asmp, dead inside, game design, gaming, interviews, mnpr-rpg, podcast, s7s, truth-and-justice, zoz
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Check this out -- a Dead Inside Actual Play thread at the Forge, revolving around some soldiers and a journalist who lost their souls in Afganistan: :: JB Bell ( Tears in Afganistan) Read through the posts and replies, and you eventually get to this piece of awesome: The second scene I want to talk about is the "foghawk" one.
The scene where Sergeant Cameron and Stephen attacked the foghawks was simply WONDERFUL. They circled in a panic, and the two of you kept attacking them. I narrated them circling about the fallen birds, and JB narrated stabbing two of them with arrows. I narrated them distressed and alarmed, and the two of you chopped and stabbed at them.
All the while, Wim (as a new player) had been trying to point it out to you guys. He at one point said, "you're attacking helpless birds!" He looked at me almost in desperation, and all I did was shrugged and marked off another Cruelty tick for Sergeant Cameron.
Eventually, they all died. And all it took was a quick reminder: You're in a foggy alleyway, standing over a flock of dead birds. Aside from the missing heads, they look like doves. Fantastic. Tags: asoa, dead inside, gaming
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It's strange that I just don't get RPG Theory much at all. I mean, I can kinda get elements of traditional Game Theory, but when folks start talking about various flavors of RPG Theory (Immersionism, Illusionism, GNS, etc.), my brain kinda turns off like it does when there's crazy PoMo language being flung around. So, I had an idea that might help me "get" what a bunch of indie designers, reviewers, and critics are on about. For you Theory-mongers, your mission -- if you choose to accept it -- is to use one or more of the Atomic Sock Monkey RPGs ( Dead Inside, MNPR: RPG, Truth & Justice, and/or The Zorcerer of Zo) -- as examples in a theory discussion or analysis. Maybe then I'll be able to wrap my head around what the hell you're all talking about. (If you blog this elsewhere, post a link in the comments, please.) Tags: asmp, dead inside, gaming, mad rpg theory, mnpr-rpg, truth-and-justice, zoz
Current Mood:  still sick
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Pyramid Pick: The Zorceror of Zo, by Bob PortnellPyramid subscribers only, alas. But hey: why aren't you subscribing? It's only $20 a year for access to a treasure trove of kickass articles, columns, comics, and reviews -- like Suppressed Transmission, Dork Tower, and my own Campaign in a Box. And, in case you ASMP fans didn't know: almost all of my CiaB columns are essentially statted for PDQ, meaning you can take them and plug them into your Dead Inside, Truth & Justice, or The Zorcerer of Zo campaigns. That's over two dozen settings -- see list here for details; scroll down to the CiaB section. Some of my personal faves are:
* Futura City, The City Of Tomorrow - 6/8/2001 [Hero Pulp with Arcane Abilities]
* Psi, Psi West - 8/17/01 ["Spaghetti" Westerns, plus Psychic Powers]
* Hyperworld vs. the Invadroids - 2/15/2002 [Supers with Alien Invasion Robots/Monsters and Mecha]
* Toybox Tribes - 4/19/2002 [Experimental (Fantasy or Science Fiction) and/or Horror]
* Kung-Fu Crucible - 6/21/2002 [Martial Arts Action, plus Conspiracy, Combat Action, Mystery Options]
* Dream Police - 4/18/2003 ["Psionic" Cops]
* The Flint Age - 6/20/2003 [Caveman Supers]
* Polymath Prep - 10/17/2003 [Smart Kids/School Hijinks (Science Fiction)]
* The Sevenpart Soul - 12/19/2003 [Fairy Tale]
* Spy Games - 2/20/2004 [Espionage]
* LudiCROUS - 4/16/2004 [Sports]
* Behind the Musick - 7/15/2005 [Musical Urban Fantasy]
Also, if you use the link below, I get a free month on my subscription. Tags: asmp, ciab, dead inside, gaming, truth-and-justice, zoz
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